Over six in ten voters have said they are “not very” or “not at all" knowledgeable about proposed changes to the Constitution under the children's rights referendum, a poll has shown.
The RedC poll, commissioned by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), found although almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of the electorate are in favour of the children's referendum amendment, 61 per cent are “not very knowledgeable” or “not at all knowledgeable” about it.
The survey of 1,000 adults carried out last week shows that just 14 per cent of voters say they are “extremely knowledgeable” about the referendum, while 19 per cent say they are “quite knowledgeable”. Some 39 per cent of voters admit they are “not very knowledgeable”, and 22 per cent say they are “not at all knowledgeable” about it.
While welcoming the support for the amendment shown by the poll, NYCI deputy director James Doorley said it showed more needed to be done to inform the electorate.
“With three weeks to go and almost a fifth of voters undecided, there is no room for complacency as we have seen big changes in public support for constitutional amendments before”, he said.
“We are concerned at the levels of voter knowledge with only a third of voters indicating they understand what is being proposed.”
Asked if they were in favour of the amendment, some 22 per cent of voters answered “don't know” while 4 per cent said they were opposed to it. The poll found the referendum to have the most support amongst Munster voters, those over 55 and those with children under 16.
The NYCI this week launched an app with information on registering to vote and reasons to vote Yes. The organisation is part of Yes for Children, a national campaign led by Barnardos, The Children's Rights Alliance, the ISPCC and Campaign for Children.